Here's who did – and didn't – attend SEC Network announcement

The official announcement of the SEC Network by the conference and ESPN was remarkable for how little real news came out of it. SEC Commissioner Mike Slive and ESPN President John Skipper played it very close to the vest throughout the two hours of their availability at the Hyatt Regency in Atlanta. They didn’t talk about the ownership structure of the network, or what it will mean from a financial standpoint for its schools.

Radio host Paul FinebaumPhoto by: MARC BRYAN-BROWN

What was impressive, though, was who attended. All 14 athletic directors came, as did each school’s head football coach. In all, there were 32 head coaches from various sports on stage with Slive, Skipper and Justin Connolly, the ESPN senior vice president who will oversee the SEC Network. Florida President Bernie Machen could not attend because of a family situation, so he taped his comments.

As one AD said, “The commissioner said it was important to be here, so we’re all here.”

Also worth noting was who didn’t attend. There was heavy chatter about the absence of Paul Finebaum, the popular Birmingham radio host whose contract recently expired, making him a free agent. The consensus is that Finebaum will play an important role as a personality on the SEC Network.